Powerful Typhoon Dujuan smashes Japan leaving at least four dead with 2million evacuated

Powerful Typhoon Dujuan smashes Japan leaving at least four dead with 2million evacuated Typhoon Dujuan is the 25th major storm to batter Japan this year and its powerful gusts and heavy rain sparked fatal landslides in regions close to the capital Tokyo Typhoon Dujuan unleashed torrential rains and lashing winds across Japan killing at least four people, officials have said. Nearly two million people were urged to evacuate as the typhoon bore down on the capital Tokyo and the surrounding area on Monday. The powerful typhoon reached heights of 80.8mph in sustained winds and gusts of 120mph. It grounded hundreds of flights and left some 50,000 people without power. Tragically, landslides were triggered in nearby Kanagawa and Chiba regions leading to the deaths. Local reports said at least six others were missing. Heavy rain drenched the Tokyo metropolitan area with residents visibly wading through water in flooded areas. Weather maps showed eastern Japan faced harsher conditions with harsh winds and rain battering the region. About 500 flights were cancelled in Japan and railway services were suspended as the Typhoon approached the island nation. The disruption affected Haneda and Narita airports in Kanto, with trains suspended across large parts of Chiba Prefecture. Typhoon Dujuan is the 25th to strike Japan this year and led to many event cancellations - such as Tokyo Game Show - amid the holiday period known as Silver Week. The country's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addressed the loss of life in a post shared to her X/Twitter account. "I offer my deepest condolences to those who lost their lives due to Typhoon No. 25," she said. "And I extend my heartfelt sympathy to those who were injured. With a sense of urgency, I instructed Chief Cabinet Secretary Takehara and Minister Hosono to respond with utmost preparedness, and then boarded a flight to the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly." A Yokosuka City Fire Department official told the BBC that a woman in Kanaga prefecture, just south of Tokyo, had been buried alive after the typhoon triggered a landslide. Rescue crews searched her home and recovered her body, pronouncing her dead shortly afterward. A man in his 50s was rescued in nearby Chiba prefecture after he became trapped as he attempted to clear debris at a landslide site. Sodegaura City Fire Department officials said the worker had fallen into a bamboo thickett and was taken to hospital before he succumbed to his injuries. Researchers believe Japan is being exposed to more destructive storms. As temperatures rise across the globe, ocean waters warm leading to storms gathering more energy that in turn can lead to higher wind speeds.